1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of marketing. More specifically, this invention relates to the field of marketing consumer goods.
2. Discussion of the Background
Point of sale (POS) computer systems function to account for transactions at POS terminals. POS systems typically include a database management system including a product price look-up table which is accessed by the POS terminal during a transaction. POS systems retrieve to the POS terminal data defining the prices of items for which a consumer requests purchase. POS systems total the costs for all of those items. POS systems log the purchase of the items. Some POS systems log the purchase of items in transaction records also including a unique customer identification (CID) associating that CID with the items purchased, the price of the items purchased, and the quantity of each product item purchased, the date of purchase, and the lane (POS terminal identification) in which the purchase occurred.
The present inventors recognize that the data stored in some POS computer systems can beneficially be used to determine purchase incentives that would induce customers to purchase certain products, as indicated below.